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5 member communities honored in Michigan Green Communities Challenge

We are pleased to announce that five SEMREO communities were honored for their participation in the Michigan Municipal League’s Green Communities Challenge this fall at the annual Michigan Green Communities Conference. They are:

Lathrup Village

Ypsilanti

Ferndale

Roseville

Sterling Heights

Our communities were honored due to a variety of efforts each has completed, including energy retrofits in government buildings (Lathrup Village & Roseville), climate action planning (Ypsilanti), sustainable transportation measures (Ferndale), and residential retrofits supported by Better Buildings for Michigan. The Regional Energy Office is proud to have played a crucial role in many of these efforts.

Several other member communities had applied to be a part of the first iteration of the Michigan Green Communities challenge in 2009: Ferndale, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Lincoln Park, Madison Heights, Roseville, Southgate, Wayne, and Ypsilanti.

All the communities honored as part of the Challenge are leaders in demonstrating how to make sustainability work locally, but of course we have a special place in our heart for our own member communities. We believe that the networking, learning opportunities, and support that the Regional Energy Office provides have helped these communities become sustainability leaders within the state.

The Green Communities Challenge is a friendly competition between cities, counties, and townships using a rating system to recognize the sustainability accomplishments that units of government throughout the state of Michigan have achieved. The Challenge seeks to provide models of best practice in sustainability as well as a peer network of governments throughout the state who are striving to move their sustainability efforts forward.

Michigan Green Communities connects Michigan’s local government leaders and supports their work through training, education, and communications. This peer-to-peer network shares home-grown best practices to help other Michigan communities overcome barriers in the path toward sustainability.

Next year, let’s get all of our member communities signed on to this initiative so that we can show demonstrate the power of collaborative effort!